ARIA winner pleads guilty to drink-driving

ARIA award-winning singer/songwriter Daniel Merriweather has been disqualified from driving after pleading guilty to crashing into a parked car while driving drunk.

The 31-year-old pleaded guilty to drink-driving, careless driving and failing to stop at the scene of the accident in Melbourne's northeast in December last year.

Melbourne Magistrates Court heard on Wednesday that Merriweather crashed into the parked car at Alphington after losing control on a bend.

He later recorded a blood-alcohol concentration of .145.

Merriweather's lawyer Paul Reynolds said his client had been drinking at a friend's house when he was asked to drive a woman home.

He had no intention of driving and had not brought his car with him. But he was asked to drive the woman home in a friend's car because she was having trouble getting a taxi and needed to get home, said Mr Reynolds.

"He, out of good-heartedness and the alcohol as well, made a silly decision," Mr Reynolds said.

"It was put on him `can you drive her home?' and he stupidly, regrettably, made the decision."

Merriweather had only technically broken the law by leaving the scene, having walked just 100 metres down the road to meet the owner of the car he was driving, Mr Reynolds said.

"He was dazed ... he apologises that he focused on the owner of the car and he realises now he should also have focused on the car he had hit."

Merriweather, who has recording contracts with Sony and Universal, was paying more than $13,000 to the owners of both cars, Mr Reynolds said.

Magistrate Donna Bakos said she accepted Merriweather had not walked away from the scene in a bid to avoid responsibility.

But she said his decision to drive the woman home was "a gesture of kindness but really, a very foolish gesture".

Merriweather was convicted, fined $800 and ordered to pay court costs of $107.

He was disqualified from driving for 14 months.

Merriweather's 2009 debut album Love & War, which went Platinum in the UK, scored him the ARIA Award for Best Male Artist as well as international success, including nominations at the MTV Europe Music Awards and the Brit Awards.

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